iPhone 14 Pro - Why You Shouldn’t Upgrade

iPhone 14 Pro in reflected rainbow light.

If I’m being completely honest with you I don’t think anyone needs to upgrade to the iPhone 14 Pro, it’s genuinely unnecessary. I had the 13 pro before this and I can’t tell the difference between what’s in my pocket.

In fact, the battery is actually worse on the 14 pro, but more about that later.

If you only use the camera on a phone for snapchat, taking photos of your dog, your coffee or family pictures then you should be totally satisfied with the iPhone X camera. (or any phone camera in the last 4 to 5 years)

So is there a real need for these 48mp RAW files? I bet most people still don’t even know what a ProRAW file is.

The bottom line is… the iPhone is an AMAZING tool for creative people who want to take better photos, make better videos and possibly use it as professional tool in some cases. I would consider myself that person, I can easily and happily take photos for social, film my youtube videos and even use it for paid work if it’s just for social media consumption. Maybe not ALL the time, but it’s super helpful that it fits in my pocket.

But theres a catch, my iPhone 13 pro felt almost identical to 14 pro and like I said - this 14 pro actually has WORSE battery life. Is that because of the IOS updates? The software is a lot different to the previous years so is that damaging battery life? Don’t get me wrong I thought the 13 pro battery was very very good so this 14 pro isn’t bad by any means. It gets me through the day no problem but because I want share some honest thoughts in this video, and it’s just an observation.

What about the always on display? … I thought we were all trying to use our phones less? Always on is the most distracting thing they could have added other than an always vibrating feature. I turned it off straight away.

You might be asking yourself whether you should upgrade or not. No, none of us NEED to upgrade. But consumerism makes us feel like that for sure. Want the new 48mp camera? fine, upgrade. But if you’re happy with your iPhone 12 camera for example, then just wait a few more years until the difference is more noticeable.

Okay, now I expect normal people have left this review I’ll get a little more nerdy about the cameras.

This year the focal length of the main wide camera is different. I don’t think this is something everyday users are even aware of, but I think they might notice when they start using it.

The regular wide lens is 24mm which is wider than the previous 26mm on the iphone 13 pro. This is TOO WIDE… in my personal opinion for everyday use.

My favourite focal length is anywhere between 35mm and 50mm which gives you a much more natural look and compression on your subjects. I shoot with the fujifilm X100v as my everyday carry and that’s a 35mm focal length… it’s makes everything look beautiful, just ask any Fujifilm fan boys.

Here’s how I noticed this 2mm difference. When I was in London taking photos or taking photos of my friends car with the regular wide lens, the main x1 camera… I noticed it was just a little un-natural, I felt a little too far away from everything, I felt like the corners or my perspective was slightly warped, I questioned my compositions a little bit. My way to fix this was by using the new x2 feature. Instead of going directly from x1 to x3 zoom the iPhone 14 have a new x2 button for that in between zoom. I much preferred this.

But then it hit me… My thoughts hear are coming from a snobby, opinionated photographer… I care about the 2mm difference but does the everyday user who’s taking photos of their coffee or their dog care about the 24mm focal length… not at all, they’re probably happy it feels a little bit wider. But that’s what I thought the ultra wide was for…

The 48mp ProRAW is exceptional - The best way to use it to it’s full advantage is when editing your images so you can adjust the intensity of the picture profile. In lightroom you can see the entire scale of how ProRAW effects your images. The standard .DNG file in your camera roll isn’t anywhere as near as good you think compared to seeing it when editing.

After a full day in London shooting some street photography and some car photography one morning with a friend of mine. I was very surprised how good it was to edit with those ProRAW 48mp files. I was shifting the shadows and highlights around, cropping left, right and centre like I would be with my raw camera files. Granted, it’s still a phone and it often feels waaay to sharp and too digital, HOWEVER the 48mp raw image is a lot softer than the 12mp jpeg. The way the small details and harsh highlights look is actually noticeably better.

Are you someone who likes to edit photos you’ve taken on your phone? This might be the best I’ve ever seen from a phone camera.

But then I tested something interesting … where is the average person sharing photos they’ve taken on their phone? Instagram right? So I put the ProRAW file against the regular jpeg file on my IG story where a lot of everyones photos get looked at. Overwhelming, nobody could spot the difference between either. So I can sit here and praise the new wonderful 48mp proraw files as a photographer but at the end of the line when it’s consumed by joe bloggs. People don’t notice.

Want a camera that fits in your pocket? I don’t think it’ll get better than this. That’s pretty much why I upgraded. Will it replace any of my professional cameras, don’t be daft… but will it help my content creation workflow… 100% it will. For things like behind the scenes and lifestyle photography… this is perfect. I don’t need to bring my other cameras with me everywhere I go. That’s what phones are for now.

But here’s my point… the 13 pro was just as helpful, the photos and videos felt just as good. If you’re pixel peeping then sure you will spot the 48mp upgrade but honestly I’m not really that bothered.

Less moaning, more praise here - the space black colour is gorgeous, maybe even the best colour apple have released. It’s almost properly mat black in certain light and then a really smooth grey in other light. I like it a lot.

I could sit and read you the iPhone spec sheet or you could go on their website and read about why it’s so wonderful. The reality is… it depends what phone you already have to how much of a difference you will really notice.

I could have kept my iPhone 13 pro and my life would be the same, my photos would be almost the same, my content would be identical.

If you’re serious about photography, I recommend getting an actual camera, like the X100v - this little thing changed my life. But that’s a topic for another day.